Chapter 29
The three Tin Knights raised their swords toward me.
...Three of them at Lv. 40.
If that were all, I might have had the pair and Ruche stay with me and tried to wipe out the monsters.
But the main body was still waiting in reserve.
These were nothing more than limbs of the 〈Dream Lord〉.
“Aah, aah...”
A baby-like cry echoed.
I’d told Ruche I’d somehow draw its attention and escape... but that was a lie.
As a Heavy Knight, I had no speed.
If it were only the Tin Knights, that’d be one thing, but escaping from the 〈Dream Lord〉 here, with its magic attacks, was impossible.
I would defeat the 〈Dream Lord〉 here.
The odds were against me, but it wasn’t impossible.
“Waaah... Waaah...”
From beyond the corner, a green figure floated toward me near the ceiling.
It had the form of a fetus, not yet fully developed into a human.
Its eyes were little more than hollows, its limbs were short, and it curled up as if embracing its body.
And a thin, long tail extended from it.
“So you finally showed up... Embryo, the 〈Dream Lord〉 of this 〈Angel's Toy Box〉!”
The baby opened its mouth wide... or perhaps something resembling a mouth.
From within it, a huge single eye emerged, swiveling around until it spotted me.
“Waaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
The infant monster... Embryo, the 〈Dream Lord〉.
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Monster: Embryo
Lv: 50
HP: 42/42
MP: 49/60
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Its stats were quite low for a Lv. 50 monster.
The problem was that it was difficult to damage.
The three Tin Knights it commanded were by no means weak.
On top of that, Embryo itself floated around in the back lines, making it almost impossible to attack with anything other than magic or thrown objects.
To make matters worse, that mass of flesh had frighteningly high Defense, and you couldn’t deal any real damage unless you attacked its weak point: its eye.
In short, to defeat Embryo, you had to withstand the three Tin Knights’ furious assault while attacking its weak point, the eye.
Even if you were high enough level, it was a formidable enemy you couldn’t defeat unless the front and rear lines performed their roles perfectly.
Honestly, I wanted Ruche and those two to stay, too.
The woman was in a magic-focused class.
The Heavy Knight could stand on the front line and take the Tin Knights’ attacks, while the Jester distracted them and threw off their movements.
Then, if the magic-focused woman rested and recovered in the rear, defeating Embryo would have been much easier.
But that was only true in a game.
Those two were badly frightened.
One of their companions had probably been killed.
It was impossible to command them in this desperate situation.
“But its strengths are so specialized that it’s not impossible to defeat it solo at a low level if you exploit its weakness... Let’s see what you’ve got, Embryo. Don’t worry, I won’t run. I’ll face you head-on.”
Embryo closed its eye and rose higher.
Until it unleashed a magic attack, it would hide its weak point and assume a defensive stance.
At the same time, the Tin Knights all readied their daggers and charged toward me.
I opened my 〈Status〉.
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【Skill Tree】
［Remaining Skill Points: 12］
〈Heavy Armor's Oath〉[20/100]
〈Defense Up〉[0/50]
〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉[5/50]
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I’d already decided how to spend my Skill Points here.
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【Skill Tree】
［Remaining Skill Points: 5］
〈Heavy Armor's Oath〉[27/100]【+7】
〈Defense Up〉[0/50]
〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉[5/50]
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【You acquired the Normal Skill 〈Shield Bash〉 for reaching [27/100] in 〈Heavy Armor's Oath〉.】
〈Shield Bash〉 is a Skill that knocks an opponent back with your shield.
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〈Shield Bash〉【Normal Skill】
Push an enemy with your shield and send it flying with force.
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Specifically, the two sides compete using Defense + Attack / 2; if my value is higher, I can send the enemy flying with force equal to that amount.
If I slam an enemy into a wall or the floor, I can also deal damage.
This Skill was useful for separating enemies.
I blocked the first Tin Knight’s attack with my 〈Mad Ogre Shield〉 and knocked it backward at the same time.
“〈Shield Bash〉!”
The second Tin Knight’s wicked blade came at me at once.
I deflected it with 〈Parry〉, then used the momentum to block the third Tin Knight’s blade.
Embryo’s attack spells were 〈Sylph Cutter〉 and 〈Thunderstorm〉.
But it didn’t cast either one in a way that would catch the Tin Knights in the attack.
I could focus on dealing with the Tin Knights here.
As I circled around the exposed right side of the second Tin Knight, I struck with 〈Disarm〉.
That reduced its Attack by one stage.
After that, I continued to withstand the Tin Knights’ fierce attacks, using 〈Shield Bash〉 to avoid fighting all three at once and landing 〈Disarm〉 whenever I saw an opening.
Though I was fighting in a way that kept Embryo from making a move, I still checked on it constantly, just in case.
If it suddenly fired a 〈Sylph Cutter〉, that one hit could kill me.
One of the Tin Knights came slashing from my blind spot with a jerky, mechanical movement.
I deliberately let it happen.
It had been forty-seven seconds since I first hit it with 〈Disarm〉... and now, two effects of 〈Disarm〉 were stacked, reducing its Attack by 40%.
I could meet the activation condition for that Skill.
“〈Rampart Reversal〉!”
The Tin Knight that slashed my back stiffened, then was blasted backward.
It slammed into the ground, its left shoulder dislocated, and went still like a puppet with its strings cut.
I’d managed to take one down...
But I couldn’t let my guard down. If anything, this was where the real fight began.